Best equipment supplier to the fitment industry in South Africa For 2009 and 2010

Wheel Service Equipment Specialists

When comparing Equipment, it is important to try and establish a set of criteria to judge by. It is also important to compare a machine with the correct opposition equivalent, so you are comparing apples with apples.

Attached is a list of criteria you can use as a guide line for making decisions as to what Equipment to buy.

EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS: Does the equipment do the job you need? It is important to ensure that you do not over buy or under buy the Equipment. Many Salesmen will sell you Equipment that has more features than what you require. Many of the Features that you pay for may not be needed for your requirements. Some salesmen will sell you the Equipment they have in stock and not the Equipment you need for the job.

EASE OF OPERATION: How easy is the Equipment to use. This is an important factor as an operator has to use the Equipment day in and day out. The more difficult the Equipment is to operate the longer the process takes and the less enjoyment the operator has when operating the Equipment.

UPGRADING: Can the Equipment you purchased be upgraded? This is important as the market is always changing. It may not only be a technical change but may be a change due to volume increase. Can the Equipment handle this? If so, what are the cost implications and time scales necessary to do these upgrades?

CONSUMABLE: Does any of the Equipment use consumables? If so, what is the price of these consumables and the amount/frequency you will need them?

OPTIONAL EXTRAS: What are the optional extras that are available with the Equipment? What is the pricing and availability?

CALIBRATION: If your Equipment requires Calibration how will this be done? Does the Equipment come with a calibration fixture/rig? Does the Equipment have built in calibration features? Are the calibration features easy to operate? If the machine is to be calibrated by the supplier, what will he charge and the frequency of this requirement? How long will the supplier take to respond to a calibration call out?

SERVICE: If your machine brakes down or is not working properly, how long will it take for a Service Technician to respond? What will the charges be for spares, labour and mileage for this response? If spares are not available what are they prepared to do to ensure you are not losing money? Are the Service Technicians suitably skilled and knowledgeable?

APPEARANCE: It is important to decide on the type of image you wish your Equipment to portray to a customer. Some shops consider the way a piece of Equipment looks is important, where others are not bothered.

TRAINING: The type of training you receive from the company installing the Equipment is important. It is not just the initial training but follow up training. Often more than one visit is necessary to ensure the operator is trained properly. If incorrectly trained, the operator will do the job incorrectly, take longer and this will reflect back on the company in the form of unhappy Customers and loss in profits.

ONGOING TRAINING: Should your operator change, is the company who supplied you the Equipment prepared to come out to your shop and train the new operator. Will there be any cost involved with this?

RESALE VALUE: Once a piece of Equipment reaches a certain age, it will need replacing. Does the Equipment you have purchased have any resale value? Who is prepared to purchase this Equipment and at what value. Remember that if only the company that supplied you the Equipment will purchase it back from you, you may end up in a situation where you will lose a lot of money if you wish to change suppliers.

SUPPLIER: Who is supplying the Equipment? Many companies offer bargain prices to make sales. Will these companies be around in a few years’ time when the problems start with the Equipment? Is the supplier a stable company? What is their track record like? What is the level of their Salesmen, Technicians like?

INFRASTRUCTURE: Does the company you are purchasing Equipment from have an infrastructure? Is there someone at the head office you can contact in regards to pricing issues, service issues, information and advice? Do you get regular feedback from the supplier as to what is happening with his Equipment at your branches.

NATIONAL COVERAGE: Does the Equipment supplier have national coverage. Does he have branches throughout the country? Do these Branches have Technical as well as sales staff? Are the branches proper offices or a one man operation working from home?

COURTESY VISITS: Does the company you purchased Equipment from call in on the branches on a regular basis or only when sales are available?

GROUP BENEFITS: If you support the Equipment supplier, what benefits are there for your company? What advantages will you receive over other companies or independent shops for this support?

TRAINING

The best Equipment in the world is of no use without proper training. Equipment Africa's Equipment’s National Trainer will work together with your Training Officers, to ensure they have the best understanding of our range of Equipment.

Equipment Africa is committed to training and has the full range of equipment available for training including a fully operational alignment pit with the latest Europa 3D Aligner at the Training centre in Spartan, Kempton Park. We offer training on older wheel alignment machines such as calibration and machine maintenance, we also have a dedicated truck wheel alignment training centre.

Full on-site training will be given to all new Fitment centres by our team of Equipment Specialists based throughout Africa. These Specialists will also be responsible to give training on an ongoing basis to existing Fitment centres.

Equipment Africa is prepared to offer/assist with training, presentation and even preparation of material for your Group.

EQUIPMENT AFRICA WARRANTY PERIOD

The warranty period for all Equipment Africa products such as Aligners, Balancers and Tyre changers is 12 months from date of installation. An additional 12 month Warranty period covers all genuine Equipment Africa, spares supplied from Equipment Africa. The warranty covers:

All spare parts.

All Labour costs

All travelling expenses for the Technician.

This warranty period ensures that you have no costs incurred for, spares, labour and travelling, for the first 12 months

The warranty does not cover damage or failure of parts or equipment due to incorrect operation, modification of equipment, or misuse of equipment.

FEATURES

Equipment Africa offers from time to time, Features. These may take the form of a reduced price or additional value for money. Should there be a Feature price offered, the normal discount offered to your group may be affected. We will notify you of any Feature prices as they arise and the duration. We will also notify you of the affect this may have on the discount structure offered to you.

New Product Release

M & B Exclusive Importers

Equipment Africa appointed as exclusive importers for the M&B Range of equipment. M&B was established on 3 February 2006 by Franco Magnani and Dido Boni. The founding partners began their professional experience in the automotive sector at a company in Correggio, leaders in the production of equipment for tyre specialists and car workshops, especially tire changers and wheel balancers. Franco Magnani started his technical-commercial experience in 1959 and Dido Boni exactly ten years later (1969). In January 1975, together with two other partners, they founded the company Sicam, remaining at the helm until August 2005 when they were bought out by Bosch and achieving success and recognition all over the world for their machines and equipment designed to solve the issues resulting from the constant evolution of tires and fitting them on rims. M&B was created to pass on all this experience and know-how to their heirs, who are, and will remain in the future, the supporting pillars of the new company.